Beginner
07-19-2011, 08:25 AM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 8
Beginner
Hey everyone first time on here. Well I've been shooting a bow in a P.A.L. league for quite sometime and a family friend has taken me under his wing to learn rifles. I shot a variety of shotguns and rifles at the range and did fairly well.
Here's my big question: What is the best rifle for a relative beginner that is powerful enough to shoot game (NY Upstate deer) but also has cheap enough ammon that I wont spend a fortune going to the range to practice. Im 22yrs old, 6'4 305 and a relatively strong guy and handle the recoil on the guns I was shooting with my friend pretty well. Any information is EXTREMELY helpful.
Here's my big question: What is the best rifle for a relative beginner that is powerful enough to shoot game (NY Upstate deer) but also has cheap enough ammon that I wont spend a fortune going to the range to practice. Im 22yrs old, 6'4 305 and a relatively strong guy and handle the recoil on the guns I was shooting with my friend pretty well. Any information is EXTREMELY helpful.
07-19-2011, 09:08 AM
#2
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location:
Posts: 6,357
First, check your hunting regulations. Some densely populated states limit hunting to shotguns, for example Illinois.
Assuming you can use a rifle to hunt with, you could not go wrong to get a bolt action rifle chambered in .30-06 and topped with a good telescopic sight. You could start out with iron sights or open sights, if money is tight. I would recommend spending about $500 for the scope -- when you get one -- and consider Leopold VX-III, Nikon, Bushnell, and Zeiss Conquest.
You can buy a .30-06 for pretty cheap. I bought a Remington ADL with a synthetic stock for less than $300 at a Bass Pro-shop grand opening a few years ago. It shoots accurately. You could also consider buying something used. Look in the barrel to see if it looks in good condition. I've never bought one used so am not an authority on evaluating barrels, but I'm guessing it should be bright and reflect light. Remove the bolt and look through the barrel from the breech end rather than the barrel end. One is safe; the other is inherently dangerous.
The .30-06 is good for North American game from pronghorn antelope on up to Elk and Moose. You can buy appropriate ammunition for .30-06 anywhere.
Even if later you want to buy rifles more closely matched to specific types of hunting, the .30-06 can be used as a back-up rifle. What happens when your scope on your special purpose rifle goes haywire or your action fouls up for some reason? Without a back-up rifle, you are in a tough spot. With a back-up rifle, you case the special purpose rifle and uncase the back-up rifle and start hunting.
Of course, there is a wide variety of rifles that will suit your first purpose of deer hunting. .25-06, .270, 7 mm Remington magnum, .308, .300 Winchester magnum. I think these are all fairly common and ammunition is commonly available. You could happen upon an especially good price tag on one of these versus a .30-06 -- maybe used or on some sort of retailer's discount for some other reason. On the other hand, if there is no price difference among these rifles, I would go with the .30-06 for the reasons given above.
Assuming you can use a rifle to hunt with, you could not go wrong to get a bolt action rifle chambered in .30-06 and topped with a good telescopic sight. You could start out with iron sights or open sights, if money is tight. I would recommend spending about $500 for the scope -- when you get one -- and consider Leopold VX-III, Nikon, Bushnell, and Zeiss Conquest.
You can buy a .30-06 for pretty cheap. I bought a Remington ADL with a synthetic stock for less than $300 at a Bass Pro-shop grand opening a few years ago. It shoots accurately. You could also consider buying something used. Look in the barrel to see if it looks in good condition. I've never bought one used so am not an authority on evaluating barrels, but I'm guessing it should be bright and reflect light. Remove the bolt and look through the barrel from the breech end rather than the barrel end. One is safe; the other is inherently dangerous.
The .30-06 is good for North American game from pronghorn antelope on up to Elk and Moose. You can buy appropriate ammunition for .30-06 anywhere.
Even if later you want to buy rifles more closely matched to specific types of hunting, the .30-06 can be used as a back-up rifle. What happens when your scope on your special purpose rifle goes haywire or your action fouls up for some reason? Without a back-up rifle, you are in a tough spot. With a back-up rifle, you case the special purpose rifle and uncase the back-up rifle and start hunting.
Of course, there is a wide variety of rifles that will suit your first purpose of deer hunting. .25-06, .270, 7 mm Remington magnum, .308, .300 Winchester magnum. I think these are all fairly common and ammunition is commonly available. You could happen upon an especially good price tag on one of these versus a .30-06 -- maybe used or on some sort of retailer's discount for some other reason. On the other hand, if there is no price difference among these rifles, I would go with the .30-06 for the reasons given above.
07-19-2011, 09:13 AM
#3
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location:
Posts: 6,357
There is another option. If the deer hunting you expect to do is in close woods with deer being kicked up at fairly close range with deer offering fleeting targets, you may want to consider a lever action rifle chambered in .30-30. This is a very classic style of rifle and cartridge. This is the kind of rifle usually depicted in the classic Cowboys and Indians movies. Note at the same time that this is a fairly limited combination. The .30-30 is not a good choice for elk or moose, though these can be killed with the .30-30 Still, if this is a primary hunting application for you, the lever action .30-30 is the classic solution. With this outfit you probably do not have a need for a scope and should just use open iron sights.
By the way, you may be interested in reading Lawrence Koller's old book "Shots at Whitetails." Koller hunted in upstate New York for many years and wrote this book about his experiences. The book has a very pleasant old-time feel to it. It also has some information you can no doubt learn from.
http://www.amazon.com/Shots-Whitetai.../dp/0873418654
By the way, you may be interested in reading Lawrence Koller's old book "Shots at Whitetails." Koller hunted in upstate New York for many years and wrote this book about his experiences. The book has a very pleasant old-time feel to it. It also has some information you can no doubt learn from.
http://www.amazon.com/Shots-Whitetai.../dp/0873418654
Last edited by Alsatian; 07-19-2011 at 09:17 AM.
07-19-2011, 09:30 AM
#4
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 8
There is another option. If the deer hunting you expect to do is in close woods with deer being kicked up at fairly close range with deer offering fleeting targets, you may want to consider a lever action rifle chambered in .30-30. This is a very classic style of rifle and cartridge. This is the kind of rifle usually depicted in the classic Cowboys and Indians movies. Note at the same time that this is a fairly limited combination. The .30-30 is not a good choice for elk or moose, though these can be killed with the .30-30 Still, if this is a primary hunting application for you, the lever action .30-30 is the classic solution. With this outfit you probably do not have a need for a scope and should just use open iron sights.
By the way, you may be interested in reading Lawrence Koller's old book "Shots at Whitetails." Koller hunted in upstate New York for many years and wrote this book about his experiences. The book has a very pleasant old-time feel to it. It also has some information you can no doubt learn from.
http://www.amazon.com/Shots-Whitetai.../dp/0873418654
By the way, you may be interested in reading Lawrence Koller's old book "Shots at Whitetails." Koller hunted in upstate New York for many years and wrote this book about his experiences. The book has a very pleasant old-time feel to it. It also has some information you can no doubt learn from.
http://www.amazon.com/Shots-Whitetai.../dp/0873418654
Any more suggestions are more than welcomed
07-20-2011, 07:06 AM
#5
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 8
Bumping this for one reason.
My buddy told me the ammo isnt bad on the .30-30 but I wanted to see if you guys can recommend anything with like real cheap ammo. Im a student still so I dont wanna go thru $20 in 1min. I know he said there were some more guns with cheaper ammo thatd be good for hunting.
My buddy told me the ammo isnt bad on the .30-30 but I wanted to see if you guys can recommend anything with like real cheap ammo. Im a student still so I dont wanna go thru $20 in 1min. I know he said there were some more guns with cheaper ammo thatd be good for hunting.
07-20-2011, 01:13 PM
#6
Spike
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 51
Typically, the more popular calibers will have cheaper ammunition. The "cheapest" are usually calibers that the military has used. This includes the .30-06 and .308, either of which would work for your applications. The .270 and .30-30 are also popular rounds, so ammo cost is lower than some other calibers. i recommend finding a rifle you like first. Most rifles these days come in one of the above calibers, so worry about caliber after finding the rifle you want.
07-20-2011, 08:58 PM
#7
Typical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 872
30-30 is ammo is cheap around here, great brush gun for deer. Also .308 you will gets lots of surplus ammo cheap that should shoot decent. i thought i heard though that NY doesnt allow high power rifles? im probably wrong but for some reason im thinking that. But a slug gun would to the trick too. Ammo is pretty cheap but even for a 20 gauge i cant stand shooting more than 15 slugs. recoil is harsh compared to my .270
07-21-2011, 07:09 AM
#8
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 8
Typically, the more popular calibers will have cheaper ammunition. The "cheapest" are usually calibers that the military has used. This includes the .30-06 and .308, either of which would work for your applications. The .270 and .30-30 are also popular rounds, so ammo cost is lower than some other calibers. i recommend finding a rifle you like first. Most rifles these days come in one of the above calibers, so worry about caliber after finding the rifle you want.
Thanks for the input
30-30 is ammo is cheap around here, great brush gun for deer. Also .308 you will gets lots of surplus ammo cheap that should shoot decent. i thought i heard though that NY doesnt allow high power rifles? im probably wrong but for some reason im thinking that. But a slug gun would to the trick too. Ammo is pretty cheap but even for a 20 gauge i cant stand shooting more than 15 slugs. recoil is harsh compared to my .270
